More than $23 million awarded to build and preserve more than 600 units of affordable housing

ALBANY – Ten awards totaling $23.7 million to create or preserve high quality affordable housing and spur economic growth in regions around the state, awarded through New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) were announced on Monday.

“Expanding the availability of affordable housing is an essential part of our mission to make New York’s communities stronger and healthier,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “This round of grant funding supports New Yorkers in need, providing homes for veterans, low-income families, the developmentally disabled, and individuals living with HIV/AIDS. These shovel-ready projects will bring high-quality housing to regions across the state and ultimately improve the lives of thousands of New Yorkers statewide.”

These projects are aligned with the administration’s ground-up approach to state investment which prioritizes statewide affordable housing goals that are also regionally significant. In conjunction with last week’s Regional Economic Development Council Awards announcement, the awarded projects meet the stated goals by providing supportive housing, homes for veterans, and affordable units that meet public housing and housing opportunity goals. The projects also meet the state’s goal to preserve critical Mitchell-Lama and rural housing stock.

Awardees competed for funds through HCR’s Early Award competition, a single-source process to apply for different streams of funding for multi-family rental projects. As part of an expedited application and review process, submissions of projects were evaluated based on clearly defined criteria, including that they advance one or more of the state’s housing goals and are project-ready, with construction or rehab required to begin within 120 days of the award.

Project applicants submitted requests for one or more of the following funding programs: 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits; State Low Income Housing Tax Credits; Low Income Housing Trust Fund; HOME; Urban Initiatives; Rural Area Revitalization Projects; and the Community Investment Fund.

The Early Award Round for 2013 reinforces the State’s housing goals, including: